Wildlife and nature

Animal shelters and rescues

Theater and dance

Rivers, parks and trails

Hunger and food

Schools and learning

Housing and homelessness

Community health

Mental health

Mentoring and foster care

Legal help and rights

Jobs and money help

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The Triangle

Everywhere

The Collective Workshop

Royal Animal Refuge

Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta

Georgia Advancing Communities Together

Atlanta Writers Club

Cobb Collaborative

Bosleys Place

Jewish Fertility Foundation

> Our Work > Our Impact > Strategic Plan > Our Team > Equity Statement > Founders Circle
Croatan Institute is an independent, nonprofit research and action institute whose mission is to build social equity and ecological resilience by leveraging finance to create pathways to a just economy.
We envision an equitable world where finance supports flourishing communities, vibrant places, and resilient economies.
In advancing this work, we embody five core values and strive to be:
The thread that connects all our work is transformative finance . Transformative finance is the lens through which we consider systemic change on a regional, national, and international basis.
Croatan Institute delivers impact through three main pathways:
Our work is built on trust and inclusion. Croatan Institute leads with relationship-building and partnerships, aligning with practitioners in the field and coalition-led movements.
We deliver rigorous research and actionable insight on the following cross-cutting themes:
Croatan Institute’s second Strategic Plan is a carefully considered framework that will guide our organizational priorities and strengthen our collective impact over the next five years.
Within this plan, you can learn more about who we are, who we serve, and our theory of change. Our achievements from our first Strategic Plan 2021-2023 positioned us to dive into our three new strategic goals :

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Farmer services through the North Carolina Soil Wealth Areas

Human Rights and Environmental Defenders: The Essential Work of “Holding the Line”

Download Report

A Reflection of the State of Conservation Finance: Takeaways from the 2026 Conservation Finance Network Boot Camp​

Silvopasture and Soil Health Workshop

Reflections on Croatan Institute’s Soil Wealth Capital Convening

NC Prescribed Burn Training

From the Ground Up: Finance and the Future of Regenerative Agriculture

Resilient Southern LAND Fund named 2026 Transformative 25 Fund

FARMWISE Hub Financial Health Spring Cohort Registration Open

Croatan Institute at Blue Foods Summit

Zara Anna Aspenson

Christi Electris

John Fenderson

Joshua Humphreys

Zeke Jalloh

Katrina Lang

Lorena Muñoz-Holladay

Jaime Silverstein

James Smith

Bill Harrington

Elizabeth Umlas

William J. Barber

Gerardo Espinoza

Abraham Jones

Lisa Woll

David Sand

Zara Aspenson

Clean Portfolio Project

Eastern NC Resilience Project

Pink Hill Project

WealthWorks Crowdfunding Action Learning Program

Divest, Invest Philanthropy

Lab for Impact Finance

Racial Equity, Economics, Finance, and Sustainability (REEFS) Program

Soil Wealth

BLAISE Project

Programs

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